


Long is the way and hard, that out of hell leads up to light

by orphan_account



Series: Multiamory March 2016 [21]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/F, Multiamory March
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-03-22
Packaged: 2018-05-28 06:54:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6319075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Multiamory March Day 21.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Long is the way and hard, that out of hell leads up to light

_ Oh my god, that was really violent.  _

Pepper hadn’t had the words to convey how horrified she had been back then, so something silly had come out instead. She feels stupid when she thinks about it, and she wonders if Tony finds it funny. She knows he didn’t find the situation itself funny in the least, but she knows that her words were a bit of an understatement. 

She knows that killing Killian was the right thing to do, and that it saved all of their lives. She also knows that Maria and Natasha have killed people, and she doesn’t find herself judging them, only herself.  _ It’s part of their job,  _ she tells herself.  _ And you did it in self defense. It’s okay.  _

Still, though, she wakes up from nightmares of blood on her hands and people burning to death in front of her. 

Pepper doesn’t know if it’s getting better or not. She has better control of Extremis now, thanks to training with Maria and Natasha, but everything that happened has fundamentally disturbed her, and she doesn’t have any idea at all how to recover from it. All she is doing is surviving, and she hopes every night that maybe, her brain will have mercy on her and give her a dreamless sleep.

“Pepper? You okay?” Natasha’s approached Pepper, who’s sitting on the couch, curled up around her knees. Pepper shakes her head. The three of them try to keep out of the habit of lying to each other about how they’re doing. Natasha sits down next to Pepper and wraps her arms around the other woman, pulling her in close.

“I wish I hadn’t had to kill him,” Pepper says, feeling like what she went through hardly compares to what Natasha went through. “I wish there had been another way.” 

“You can’t change it, though. We’re all making the best of the situation,” Natasha says, resting her chin on Pepper’s shoulder. “I know it’s hard. But Maria and I will be here for you all the way through it.” Pepper knows Natasha’s right, and she goes quiet for a while, just letting Natasha’s embrace soothe her. Eventually, Maria joins them, and Pepper lets herself be held, wishing it would erase the guilty ache inside of her. 

“We love you, Pepper,” Maria finally says, her voice soft. “Remember that.” 

There are a million other horrible things Pepper is forced to remember, but she’ll be damned if she doesn’t make herself remember that one, incredibly important fact. 

 


End file.
